Acetylene-gas generator.



No. 642,222. Patented Jan. 30, I900. G. E. GULICK, F. M. GALLOUP & C. H. GULlCK. AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOB. (Application filed Jan. 16, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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Patented Jan. 30, I900 (5. IE. GULICRLF. M. GALLOUP & an. GUUCK.

METYLENE GAS GENERATOR. I

(Application filad Jan. 16, 1899. J

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (1N!) Model.)

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GEORGE E. GULICK, FRANK M.- GALLOlIyl? AND CHARLES H. GULICK, OF

LODI, NEW ioRK.

ACETYLIENE GAS GENEIFMTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.642,222, dated January 30, 1900. Application filed January 1 9 serial NO- 7 ,311. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GEORGE E. GULICK, FRANK MIlllLLoUP, and CHARLES H.GULICK, citizens'of the United States, residing at Lodi, in the county of Seneca, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Gas-Generators, of which phe following is a specification, reference be'ng u had therein to the accompanying drawings. re

This invention relates to gas-generators, and particularly to an apparatus adapted for the generation of acetylene or similar gases from chemical substances decomposed by the presence of moisture.

The invention has for its object to provide a construction by which the chemical or car- I bid of calcium to=be acted upon may be stored in a series of cells or apartments which are independently and successively brought into operation for the the gasometer sure of gas.

A further object of the invention is to propurpose of maintaining in a uniform and standard presvide a car-bid chamber 'or cell which can be conveniently charged and cleaned from the exterior of the apparatus.

The invention also provides a novel and improved apparatus for successively feeding the moisture to a series of carbid-cells, to-. gether with means carried by the movable dome for automatically and successively operating the water-admitting devices in the descen t of the dome from an elevated position.

Other objects and advantages of the inveniion will hereinafter appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof .will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. V

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through the generator. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the lit 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation ..pon a reduced scale. Fig. 4c is a detail perspective of the valvetripping device, and Fig. 5 is a similar view of the s'atenadmitting valve and its operating-levers. v a

Lilre letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several figures of the draw-\ urge.

The letter A designates the base of the gencrator, which may he supported in any suit- It is obvious that these parts may be secured together in any desired manner and that the bevel A may be upon the inner face of the flange when the tank B rests with-in the same. The base is provided with a series 'of carbid cells or compartments A arranged at intervals circumferentially of the base and pro vided with openings A upon the exterior-or outer faces thereof. These openings may be ,pou the bottom or upon the outer side as illustrated in the present instance, and are suitably closed by means of coversA", secured in position by a-locking-bar A and hand-screw A close and air-tight contact with the front of the box, at which point a packing of any suitable character may be interposed. The lower portion of the casting is provided with a suiiw able drip fiange at, extending circumferentially thereof and with a central boss at, adapted to receive the threaded end of a guide and delivery pipe 0, extending upward through the holder and also to receive the end of a similar discharge-pipe O for conducting the gas to a point of storageor use. Each of the cells or compartmentsA is provided with an aperture A in its upper portion for the admittance of water thereinto, which aperture may be surrounded if desired, by a nipple or collar o as shown in Fig. 1. Within the tank 13 a movable domeD is located, provided with a central depending sleeve D, adapted to fit over and surround the upper portion of the guide and dischargepipe 0, said tube being extcnded'above the top of the dome and capped, as at D to al low the descent of the dome and provided adjacent to the top surface of the dome with suitable apertures D to permit the discharge of gas-from the upper portion of the dome into the dischargepipe's C and O.

' The lower porti "n of the depending sleeve D is provided wit a tripping device E, of any suitable construction, adapted to coop crate with a' series of valve-lifting levers F ICC -- located relative to the circumfdrentially-arconsists of the forked or bifurcated arm F, n

rauged -carbid-cells A. The preferred term olthis tripping device is shown in'detail in Fig. 4, 'andconsists of a sleeve or collar. having spirally arranged uponits vertical periphery a. series of contact-lugs E, each being of sufficient length to.retainthe valve in an open position for a predetermined'length of time inorder to insure the positive flood-.

ing of the carbid-cell upon which it operates.

The tripping'devic'e E is adapted to engage.

any desired form of lever F, adapted to raise or open a valve G, of any preferred form of construction, for the purpose of admitting water into the carbid-chamber. -We have illustrated inth is application, however, apreferred construction of this lever and of a valve to coiiperate therewith, which construction permits a return movement of the dome and tripping device without affecting the position of the valve controlling end of the lever. This particular constructionof lever pivotally mounted upon the forked ripper end F of a supporting-bracket F which bracket is provided I with a socket f, adapted to fit around the collar 0!, of the carbid-cellA and to be secured thereto by means of a set-screw f or other suitable device. Between the members F of the bracket F the actuatingdever F is pivoted by means of a pivot f which passes through said lever and through the arm F. Betweenthe membersof the arm F a cross bar or pin F is located, below which the shorter arm of the lever F extends, whereby a depression of the extending end of the lever by the tripping device will raise the arm F, while an elevation of such end of the lever' will permit a depression of the inner end of the lever without affecting the arm F. A suitable step ii is provided to limit the downward movement of the arm F, and upon which said arm rests when not influenced by its lifting-lever.

The preferred and particular construction of valve before mentioned consists of a ball G, flexibly counected'to the free end of the arm F -for instance, by'means of the chain G. The ball-valve rests upon a seat G having a beveled outer edge g, which providesa valve-seat having the minimum of contactsurface, and thus prevents the accumulation o; deposit of any matter thereon which would prevent the valve from seating closely to make a water-tight joint", At opposite sides of the valve-seat G3 suitableguard-wings G} are provided ,to prevent the ball when lifted from swinging out of line with'theseat to which it -is returned in the further operation oi the device. v I

For the purpose of flooding one of the car- I hid-cells when the machine is first placed in operation there is provided a by-pass pipe H,

having a suitable valve H, by which means watermay be admitted into one of the carbid-cells from the lower portion of the tank.

7 The tank l; is also provided-with asuitable 7 like numbers,

filling-spout B, at its upper portion to facilitate the introduction of water thereinto, and adjacent 'to the valves a cylindrical vskirt B is provided to prevent any possible escape of gas through the water at the point between the edges of the dome and those of the tank B. It may be also found desirable to use in vconnection with'this invention'a safety-vent,

and such a construction has been illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, wherein a ventor escape pipe I extends upward through the base of the holder and is surrounded by a: downwardly-extending pipe or sleeve 1', carried by the dome andextending above the same, as shown at 1 The escape-pipe I ex= tends above the upper portion of the tank, so 1 that water cannot enter the same, and when ah excess of gas has accumulated beneath the dome it will raise the same until the sleeve 1 passes above the water-level, and thus permits the entrance of gas accumulated in the dome into the escape orvent pipe I.

There are illustrated six carbid cells or compartments arranged at the base of the holder and adapted to communicate with the water contained in thetank of the gasometer. It will be obvious, however, that the number of cells orcolnpartments may be increased or decreased at pleasure and their size and particular construction varied toaccommodate machines of dilierent capacity. The bottom of each cell has been shown as slightly inclined, as at a, to facilitate the cleaning thereof and the opposite side walls tapered inward, as at a, thus leaving the space hetweenthecells of each series to permit a free circulation of ,water around the same and maintaining the cells in a cool condition; This construction permits the heat generated in the decomposition of the carbid to be conducted to the water, thus maintaining the same in a slightly-heated condition to prevent freezing of the water by reason of reduced temperature in the apartment where the machine may be located.

In Fig. 3 the several compartmentshave been shown as numbered consecutively and thedome also provided with a spirally arranged series. of numerals from 1 to 6, corresponding in position and order tothe cells of By this arrangement of indicating characters, such as nnmerals,.the user of the machine ca'n at once ascertain which of the series of'cells have been used and how soon the apparatus will have-to be recharged in order to obtain the desired pressure of gas .for the service-line.

In the operation of thegenerator the tank B is first filled with water approximately to its top, the air beneath the dome having been permitted to escape by a suitable outlet-cock upon the service. or discharge pipe 0'. Prior to this time the several carbid-cells A have been suitablycharged and closed, all of the valves being closed to prevent the entrance of water into the cells. At this time one of the cells is flooded by means of the bypass descent of the tripping lie H, which generates su'ificient gas to raise the dome and carry the trippingdevice above all of the levers l As the g'asis used. the same is maintained under pressure by any suitable weight-forinstauce, the tripping device E, whichmay be formed of sufficient metal to properly weight the dome, and it has been found particularly de'sirable'to Weight this demo at its lower portion to render the movement steady as it reaches the upper portion of the tank. When suiiicient gas has escapedto permit-the descent of the dome and tripping device, one ot the lugs IE will engage the corresponding lever F and retain the some open for a predetermined time, and the gas generated from the cell thus flushed passes upward through the water to maintain the dome and the pressure of gas beneath the same at a substantially uniform point. It will he obviousthat the gradual consumption of gas from the dome will permit the successive lugs E to engage and actuate the several lovers of the series until the compartments have all been flushed. The indicating characters upon the dome, however, will show how many chambers remain filled with carbid', and thus indicate to the attendant when itis necessary to recharge the chemhere which have been exhausted. If the lugs E upon the tripping device have passed the levers, the weight of the arm Freturns the same to its position upon the stop l and permits the ball-valve to recede and prevent the escape of. any further water into the carbid-cell, which at this time can be opened, cleaned, and recharged for the further operation of the generator. The lower portion of the tank may be provided with a suitable draw-oh cock A for the purpose of removing the water therein when found desirable for any purpose.

With the construction hereinbetore described we are enabled to generate suficient gas to meet the requirements upon a machine of a predetermined capacity-401' instance, if but a single light is burning the amount of gas consumed would bevery small and the device consequently very slow, so that the valve is at first gradually lifted, permitting only a small amount of water to finally increasing this amount until all of the carbid is saturated with water. if a larger amount of gas be used from the generator, the descent ofthe dome will be correspondingly more rapid and the valves open quickly to rapidly generate the gas to replace that withdrawn'itrom the dome. The automatic character of the generation in this machine obviates the necessity for carrying any large amount or pressure of gas that is required toeffect asatisfactory operation.

'It is obvious that numerous changes in the details of construction and configuration o f the several parts may be made Without depart ingfrom the spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

for said apertureua pivoted enter the cai-bid-chamber, and

. per faces annular flange above said The location of the carbid-oells upon or in the base of. the generator-tank and below the W3i16f-18V61 thereof performs a very important yo function in this art. It permits the formation of the cells and base as asingle casting-there by insuring the -:maximum of strength and great convenience and economy in the con-' struction of the apparatus,as all of these parts 9'5; maybe assembled in position for use and the cylindrical body of the tank afterward applied. Furthermore, the admission of the gas generated beneath the body of water Within the t4" k purifies the gas by removing there-tile from he particles of dust and other impuri ties incident to the decomposition of the canbid, while the slow and gradual generation causes the gas-bubbles to rise slowly through the water and be thoroughly purified, cooled, i3 5 and' condensed, which is not the case when a large body of cal-bid is acted upon at a single time. i

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters no Patent, isv 1. Inagasgenerator comprising a tank and movable dome, a carhid-oell located within and upon the base ofthe tank beneath the water-level thereof and provided with an an egg erture in its upper wall, a valve and operating connections for said aperture, and means carried by said dome for actuating said valve for admitting water and discharging the gas from said cell beneath the level of water in me said tank; substantially as specified. i

2. In a gas-generat rcomprisinga tank and movable dome, aca iid-cell arranged within and upon the base of said tank beneath the water-level of the tankiand having an aper m5 ture communicating with said tank, avalve arm connected with said valve, an independent operating lever adapted to engage said arm when moved in one direction, and means carried by the no dome for engaging said lever; substantially as specified. 4 v

3. The combination with a tank-wall and movable dome within the same, of a. base for said wall having'a series of independent cells i re circumfercntially arranged upon the upper face within said well and provided with openings at their outer faces adapted to receive suitable closures; substantially asspecified,

4. The combination with a tank-wall and mo movable dome within the samepf a baseplate vforsaid tank having a series of independent cells arranged upon its upper surface within said Wall and provided with ports in their up i disposed radially and adjacent to 1:25 the center ot'said hase; substantially as specified.

5. The com bination of a base fora gauges orator having a series of cells circulnteren tially arranged. upon said base plate, saiili x e cells being" open at their outer faces, and an cells with a tank wall fitting said flange, and a movable dome within said well; substantially as spe fied A movable dome, a series of carbid-cell's carried within and upon the face of the base of said tank each having a port radially disposed adjacent to the center of said base, valves for said cells, and valve-actuating devices disposed centrally of said tank positioned opposite the several valves to automatically and movable, dome,

successively actuate the same; substantially as specified.

' 8. In a gas-generator comprising a tank and movable dome, a series of carbid-cells carried within and upon the face of the base of said tank each having a port radially disposed adjacent to the center of the tank, valves for said cells each having an operating-lever projectingtoward the center of said tank, and a series of tripping devices centrally suspended from said dome and positioned opposite said valve-levers to successively and automaticsang-operate the same; substantially as speci e 9. In a gas-generator co mprisin g a tank and a series of valved cells circularly disposed, and a tripping device within sa'd tank centrally carried by said dome and provided with a series of independent spirally-disposed contacts to successively and automatically open said valves; substantially as specified.

10. In a gas-generator, comprising'a tank and movable dome, a series of .cells, means within the dome for automatically and successively admitting water to said cells, and a series of indicating characters extending around the periphery of the dome and corresponding in position to the cell or compartment designated -thereby; substantially as specified. l i

11. In a gasfgenerator comprising a tank and movable dome, a carbid-cell having an inlet-aperture, a valve controlling the same,

I located within and below the water-level of said tank, a pivoted arm for lifting said valve, an independently-pivoted lever for raising said arm, trally within and by the dome and adapted tho gngage said lever; substantially as speci- 12.1A' gas generator comprising a tank and movable dome, a carbid-cell located .within and upon the base of said tank and having an inletaperture,,a valve for said aperture,

'21. pivoted arm flexibly connected with said valve, an independently-pivoted operating-- lever adapted to engage said arm in its move ment in one direction, and a tripping device ried by. the dome,

and a tripping device carried cen-.

carried by said lever; vsubstantially as specified.

13. A gas-generator comprising atank and movable dome, a carbid-cell having an inletaperture, a valve-seatprovided with a beveled edge, aball-valve and operating-lever,

flexibleconnection between said lever and valve, a tripping device to actuate said lever; an arm lifted by said lever and to which said flexible connection extends, and guard-wings supported by said valve-seat;substantially as specified.

14.- In a gas-generator comprising a tank and dome, a series of carbid-celis arranged within the tank, valves and operating-levers carried by said cells, a-t-ripping device carand a series of. con-tact lugs spirally'arranged around said tripping device to engage the lever successively in the descent of the dome; substantially as specified.

15. In a gas-generator comprising a tank and movable dome, .a' series of radially-arranged cells or compartments, valvesthereon communicating with the tank, operating-levers for said valves extending inwar toward a common center, and a tripping device carried by a central depending extension upon said domeandprovided with a series of laterally-projecting contacting lugs; substantially as specified.

16. In agas-generator, a tank composed of a base carrying carbid-cells or compartments having apertures communicating with said tank, a cylindrical skirt surrounding said apertures, and a movable dome covering the uppeg end of said skirt; substantial y as specifie 17. In a gas-generator comprising a tank and movable dome, acarbid-cell carrie by the base of saidtank and provided with a gasoutlet below the water-level within said tank and a by-pass connection communicatin gwith said tank and cell; substantially as specified. 18. In a gas-generator, a base carrying valved carbid cells circumferentially arranged upon the upper iace thereof and having a flange at its upper portion, a cylindrical tank-body secured to said flange, an upwardl'y-extending gas-pipe located in said base, a dome carrying tripping devices for said valved cells and provided with a sleeve surrounding said pipe, a vent or escape pipe extending upward fromsaid base and above the top or said tank-cylinder, and a telescoping pipe carried by the dome and extending over the upper end of said vent-pipe; substantially as specified. 19. A gas-generator comprising a base having a series of radially-arranged carbid-cells having openings at an outer face, a tank located above said cells, valved connections between said tanlc and cell, operating-levers for said valves, a by-pass communicating with the tank and one of said cells, a gas-outlet pipe extendingupward from said base, a mov.- able dome provided with a downwardly-exthe dome to engage and actuate tending sleeve surrounding said pipe, and a tripping device at the'lower end of said sleeve provided with spirally'arranged contact-1n gs I cr to successively operate said leve s; substantially as specified.

20, A gas-generator comprising a base having a series of radially-arranged carbideells having openings at an outer face, a tank located above said cells, valved connections be tween said tank and cell, operating-leversfor said valves, a lay-pass com inunieating with the tank and one of said cells, a gas-outlet pipe extending upward from said base, a movable dome provided with a downwardly-extending sleeve, surrounding said pipe, a tripping device at the lower portion of said sleeve provided with contact-lugs t0 successively operate said levers, a series of movable covers for said cells, a eylindricalskirt surrounding said valves and extending upward therefrom, and indicating characters carried by said dome and located to correspond in positien with the several cells or compartments substantially as specified.

21. In a gas-generator, the combination with a tank and a series of carbid-eliambers having. ports disposed radially to tlie'eenter of. said tank, of a vertically-mmable dome, a Weight depended centrally of said dome and provided with valve-actuating devices, and a series nf valves on said cells having operating-levers extending radially'inward toward the center of said tank; substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof We aff x our signatn'res in presence of two witnesses.

GEDRGE GULl'CK. FRANK M. GALLOUP. CHART, H, GULIOK/ Witnesses:

E. S. COX, G. W. Gommc. 

